


Grow Fonder

by fio



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Feelings Realization, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Possibly Pre-Slash, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 02:57:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9414899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fio/pseuds/fio
Summary: Really, after everything that's happened to the both of them, it's not actually that weird. But it still feels a bit hard to wrap his head around.SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2, specifically episode 8.





	

Okay. So Keith's part Galra. Not full Galra—Shiro checks again and there's no purple fur or giant ears sprouting out of Keith's head all of a sudden—but he awakened the blade and everyone seemed pretty sure nobody can do that without Galra blood in them. So he's an alien. Part alien. Somehow.

Really, after everything that's happened to the both of them, it's not actually that weird. But it still feels a bit hard to wrap his head around.

The walk back to Keith's lion is more of a limp. Kolivan is a lot more agreeable now that Keith's proven himself and the Red Lion has stopped attacking, but Keith is still exhausted after his trial and Shiro has to help him stay on his feet. He got a chance to clean up a little and change back into his paladin armor, but they have to get back before the others worry so he hasn't gotten any real rest yet. They're silent as they make their way out of the Marmora's base even though Shiro has a whole host of things he wants to say, but he knows it's not the time for that now. Keith's eyes are wide and unfocused as they walk, still taking in the news himself. Things will change now, and neither of them are sure what or how, and that alone is terrifying.

"Can you pilot?" Shiro asks once they get inside.

Keith grimaces as he slips into the chair, clutching at his right arm before slowly stretching it out. He grunts through the motion but manages to grab the control, letting out a sigh once his hand wraps around it. "I can pilot," he says, though his teeth are clenched tight.

"We'll get you fixed up once we get back inside the Castle."

Keith says nothing and keeps his focus on getting them out of here and Shiro lets him, though he can't help dropping a hand to Keith's uninjured shoulder and squeezing.

It's not until he sees Allura's face when Kolivan removes his mask onboard the Castle of Lions that he thinks maybe there could be a problem.

"Keith, you don't look so good," Pidge says as Allura and Coran leave the ship bay with Kolivan to discuss plans in detail. Other members of the Marmora will be joining soon, though Allura is far from happy about it. Keith had been managing to stand on his own for a bit but he's starting to look off balance again and Shiro quickly moves to his side and helps him stay upright. "Shouldn't you take him to the medbay? He can rest up in—" 

" _No_ ," Keith gasps, looking fearful. Shiro realizes he doesn't want anything in the medbay identifying his Galra blood as the other paladins all stare at him in surprise and confusion.

"What happened down there? How'd you get so beat up in the first place?" Hunk asks.

"I'll fill you in later," Shiro says, already leading Keith away. He's not actually sure what to tell anybody yet, but he knows either he or Keith will have to tell them something soon. "He just needs to lie down for a bit. You guys should stay here and wait for the other Marmora to arrive then join everyone else."

Shiro and Keith half-stumble, half-walk down the corridor while Lance's ramblings about his chances of getting a Marmora outfit fade away behind them until they reach the paladin's rooms. "You're okay," Shiro reassures as he guides Keith into his room. Keith groans when Shiro helps lower him onto the bed, his hand gripping tight at his arm. "You really could use a rest in the healing pods, though."

Keith's eyes go wide. "They'll find out. They'll know. Shiro, please, don't—" 

"Hey, hey, easy," Shiro says, trying to calm Keith's panic, "Nobody's finding out anything until you're ready, okay? The Marmora seem to be pretty good at the whole secret-keeping thing so they won't find out from Kolivan, and they won't find out from me." He watches the alarm fade from Keith's expression, but his body stays tense, shoulders hunched and fists squeezed tight. "We'll deal with this when you're ready, okay?" Shiro promises, kneeling down so he's looking up at Keith, "Together."

"Shiro—" Keith starts, but his voice breaks and he has to swallow around whatever he was going to say. He folds forward over his knees and Shiro watches him try to breathe slower and calm down.

"We don't have to talk about any of this right now," Shiro says, keeping his voice quiet. Keith's eyes glance his way but don't stay on him for long. "You should at least rest a little bit here if you won't use any of the healing pods. Let's get you out of that armor."

Keith stays mostly still with his eyes closed and his breathing rhythmic as he lets Shiro slowly pulls his armor off, piece by piece. He winces and grunts when his injured side gets rustled too much, and Shiro winces in sympathy when he sees the bruises underneath once Keith is down to his civilian clothes. Shiro won't push Keith right now, but he really will need to visit medbay if he doesn't want to be out of commission for long. With the pieces of his armor set aside, Shiro helps Keith lie back onto the bed, ruffling his hair a bit.

"Sleep," Shiro instructs, moving to stand and leave for the medbay to maybe find some Altean aspirin or something, but Keith's hand reaches out lightning fast and grabs him by the wrist.

"Shiro, please don't go."

The desperation in his shaky voice freezes Shiro in place. Keith is staring up at him, the first time he's really _looked_ at Shiro since everything that's happened. The fear in Keith's face makes Shiro's chest seize and he sits down on the bed beside him immediately.

"Okay," he says, sliding his wrist through Keith's grip so he can take Keith's hand in his own. "I won't go anywhere." Keith looks so relieved when he stays, and Shiro remembers what Keith saw during the trial to make him so fearful. He wants to reassure Keith that he'd never leave again by choice, but before he can make that promise, Keith speaks first.

"You don't hate me?"

The question shocks him, the disbelief thick in Keith's voice making his gut churn. How could he ever hate Keith? How could Keith ever think he would?

"No, of course I don't."

"Even though I'm—" Keith's voice breaks again, but this time he takes a breath and continues, "I'm Galra?"

"Keith..." Shiro sighs, squeezing his hand tighter around Keith's, "I could never hate you. But I gotta be honest, I can't really picture you as Galra... right now, anyway. We know you _are_ , after what happened, but. It's a weird thing to process, y'know?" He pauses. "Sorry, obviously _you_ know. But it's not like you're suddenly purple and furry or growing scales. For all we know your Galra blood could be from some great-great-great-great-great-grandparent or something, so distant and far-removed that it barely counts."

Shiro's rambling doesn't ease Keith's mood and he sounds wrecked when he speaks again, voice small and guilt-ridden. "But they tortured you. They've hurt and killed so many people, what if... what if I'm like them?"

Shiro watches the sharp flashes of pain in Keith's face, not from his roughed up shape but from the very idea at hurting people, and already knows the answer to that question. But instead of answering it, he asks his own.

"Do you remember what you said down in their headquarters? When you awakened the blade?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not. What did you say?"

Keith frowns, like he doesn't understand the point of this, but thinks on it for a second. "I said they could have it. That I didn't need it, because..." Shiro smiles wider as he watches the realization dawn on Keith's face, bringing their tightly squeezed hands down to Keith's chest and tapping the back of his knuckles over his heart.

"Because I know who I am," Keith says, looking up at Shiro like he doubts it now but still wants to believe it.

"And I know _you_. If you've always been Galra, then nothing's different now that we know about it. You're the same person that you've always been, and that's all I care about."

Where their hands are resting, Shiro feels the sharp inhale Keith takes beneath them. The moment seems to drag on forever, both of them holding their breath for something but not knowing what. It breaks only when Keith finally has to breathe again, emptying his lungs in a slow exhale, but the air stays charged, waiting for a single atom to move and spark a storm.

"I meant it," Keith says after a few minutes of their joined hands steadily rising and falling atop his chest.

"Giving up the knife? I know you did."

"But you didn't believe me. Before, when I made the wrong choice first, but I know what's important now and it's not the knife or whatever's connected to it. Even if the thing hadn't awakened, I wouldn't care. Shiro," he pleads, his voice down to a whisper, "please believe me. "

"I do," Shiro says easily. Keith is still so overloaded from both mental and physical exhaustion that he hasn't realized the Shiro he had seen during the trial was not really him. But Shiro will accept the apology Keith doesn't need to make because Keith needs him to, and the way he visibly relaxes, calmed by Shiro's understanding, makes Shiro smile. The air is lighter in the room now, the charge dissipating and replaced with the usual ease and comfort they carry between them. "Now believe _me_ when I say you really, really need to rest."

"Yeah," Keith says, closing his eyes. "I think... I think going to the healing pod later may be a good idea after all."

Shiro raises an eyebrow at Keith's sudden willingness after being so adamantly against it before. He watches and feels as Keith's breathing slows, their joined hands still moving up and down with his chest as he falls asleep, and his eyes begin to grow wide as he understands. Whatever fears Keith has of the others knowing the truth, they scare him less now knowing Shiro's feelings haven't changed.

After his lost year, Shiro had expected Keith to pull away from him and go back to being distant as he always was with others, but time and time again he's surprised Shiro with how much he still cares. He looks down at his free hand, spreading the artificial fingers and remembering the torture he'd suffered. Keith never started thinking of him differently despite all he'd been through and how much he'd been forced to change, and Shiro can't imagine seeing Keith as anything other than _Keith_ , Galra or not. 

Shiro looks back at the bed and sees Keith frowning, disgruntled even in sleep. He hopes it's not because of the pain, but he knows Keith's subconscious may be just as unpleasant right now. He sighs and props his elbow against his knee so he can rest his chin on his hand, already decided that he's going stay until Keith wakes up. He doesn't want Keith to wake up to find him gone and panic again, thinking Shiro's abandoned him for a choice he ultimately didn't make. He left Keith behind once, what feels like a lifetime ago when he accepted the piloting mission, and has never stopped regretting it since. He won't do it again. 

Sometime after Keith gets to sleep, Shiro ends up accidentally passing out, too. He wakes up when his chin slips off his hand and he nearly bangs his head against his knees. He catches himself and as he blinks his eyes open and looks over, he sees Keith smiling at him.

"You drooled," Keith teases.

Shiro is frozen for a moment despite the sudden heat spreading across his face. Then he shuts his jaw with a loud click of his teeth and sits up straight. Keith laughs, then winces with it, as Shiro clears his throat and wipes away the wetness on his chin.

"You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Less tired. Still not great," Keith says, wincing and groaning as he starts to sit up. Keith finally lets go of Shiro's hand that had been squeezed tightly in his against his chest so he can help guide Keith off the bed.

"Let's get you to the medbay then. You ready?"

Keith nods, wrapping an arm over Shiro's shoulders, and the two leave his room. The walk is slow and quiet but the silence is comfortable and familiar instead of tense and fearful after their conversation.

Just before the door to the medbay, Keith finally speaks up. "I want you to tell them."

Shiro doesn't have to ask what he means. "Are you sure?"

Keith nods, the resolve clear on his face. "It'll be easier hearing it from you. Everyone trusts you." He looks up at Shiro then, smiling gently. " _I_ trust you."

The words are heavy and Shiro's feet come to a stop. Keith's smile melts into a look of confusion, his side pressing against Shiro's.

"Keith..."

"You don't have to," Keith says quickly, suddenly thinking he's asked too much.

"I will, if that's what you want. But I already know that you trust me. It might help them to trust you if you're the one to tell them, though." Keith's eyebrows furrow and he looks down at the floor. "But I won't force you to do it, I know this is going to be tough for you more than anyone. Think on it while you recover, okay?"

Keith is slow to say anything, but eventually he nods with a quiet, "Okay," before Shiro starts walking them again. The healing pods are easy enough to operate after watching them be used even though neither of them can read Altean. Shiro helps Keith inside the closest one and starts pressing the buttons he remembers Coran using.

"You don't think this thing will... turn me purple, do you?" Keith asks. Shiro checks to see if he's kidding but he looks actually a bit distressed at the idea.

"I think you'll be okay," Shiro reassures him, "Awakening the sword didn't make you suddenly purple and you've been Galra all this time anyway."

"Right," Keith mumbles, though he doesn't seem convinced.

"Whatever happens, I'm on your side. Purple or not," Shiro adds, trying to keep Keith from worrying.

Keith stares at him, and Shiro's afraid his attempt at comfort missed its mark until Keith falls into his chest. For a second he's afraid Keith's collapsed and brings his hands to catch him, but then he feels Keith's arms wrap tight around his back and squeeze and realizes it's a hug. A jolt of joy shoots up his spine and he almost hugs back, but then he hears Keith groan and mutter, "Ow," into his collarbone. Very carefully, Shiro helps Keith lean back into the pod once his arms loosen, slipping away from his sides.

"How about we try that again when you're not bruised like a week-old banana?" he suggests, and he feels his own heart jump when he realizes the offer he's making.

"Sounds like a plan," Keith says, his eyes squeezed shut. Shiro figures that's because of the pain, but the bright red blush across his face speaks to something else. He doesn't mention it, though he can't keep the smile off his own.

"This should be quick, no more than a few hours. Do you want me to go tell them while you're in here?"

Keith sighs and drops his head back against the pod, opening his eyes again as he decides, "I'll do it. You're right, it should be me."

"Then I'll be there to back you up. Rest up, Keith," Shiro says, pressing the last button to turn the pod on.

They watch each other with smiles until the pod puts Keith to sleep and fills with the regenerative liquid, leaving Shiro alone for now. He sits down and leans back against the pod to puzzle over the warmth still buzzing in his chest. He feels certain now that something is different, changed between them despite how insistent they are about things staying the same, but he's not sure that it's the news of Keith's Galra heritage that's done it.

He looks down at his hand that Keith kept squeezed over his heart the whole time he slept and feels his own jump again.

"Oh," he says quietly, his hand tingling with pins and needles as he begins to understand.

Really, after everything that's happened between them, it's hard to believe it's taken him until now to notice. But compared to being an alien, this feels a lot easier to wrap his head around.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you dreamworks for sheithson 2 but it bugged me that keith went from beat up and wounded in the malmora trial outfit to suddenly in his paladin armor and fine in the span of a minute at the end of the episode so i wanted to do a little fix it and also deal with feelings because they're in LOVE damnit.


End file.
